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Unemployment, human capital depreciation and pension benefits: an empirical evaluation of German data*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2011

NIKLAS POTRAFKE
NIKLAS POTRAFKE
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Box 138, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany (e-mail: niklas.potrafke@uni-konstanz.de)
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Abstract

This paper investigates empirically how unemployment-induced employment-breaks at different career stages influence pension benefits. The analysis is based on German data. I distinguish four different career phases and investigate to what extent the prevailing social security policy compensated for earning losses. The results suggest that (1) losses in pension benefits were the greatest if unemployment occurred in the middle of a career (between 31 and 50); (2) social security policies have had a mitigating effect on losses in pension benefits. These findings indicate that institutions have a decided influence on how career patterns translate into pension benefits.

Keywords

J26J24H55I38Employment historiescareer interruptionspension benefitssocial security policyhuman capital depreciationinstitutions
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Pension Economics & Finance , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 223 - 241
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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